The Western Hockey League will use YouTube to carry its games at the beginning of the 2026-27 season, giving fans a temporary way to watch live action online.
The league is changing streaming platforms after its relationship with Victory+ became uncertain. Victory+ had held the WHL’s exclusive livestreaming rights since March 2025.
“The WHL’s audience is growing rapidly. We continue to believe that providing easy access to games is of critical value and importance as we look to expand our reach and deliver WHL excitement to our fans,” Near said. “By moving WHL Regular Season games to YouTube on a short-term basis, we are protecting that access for fans to livestream their favourite WHL Club and watch their favourite WHL stars when the 2026-27 season gets underway Friday, September 18.”
According to the WHL, the Victory+ arrangement drew millions of viewers during its run and helped raise the profile of the league’s teams and players.
Teams also put money into their broadcasts, expanding their coverage with new features, intermission segments and additional camera views.
“While we are disappointed to part ways, our time with Victory+ resulted in remarkable growth and exposure for the WHL as a result of the increased accessibility for fans.”
“WHL Clubs pushed forward, investing in their production and exploring new ways to deliver games to fans via our livestreaming product. To this day, we hear accounts from fans who discovered the WHL because of our decision to work alongside Victory+, a company with Western Canadian roots. In today’s changing landscape, accessibility to the product is paramount and we will explore all options to deliver games to WHL fans around the world.”
The WHL said it intends to keep broadcast quality consistent while the league determines its longer-term streaming plans.
The league said details about how fans will access games on YouTube will be announced before the regular season gets underway Sept. 18.
